I turned 31 this week. Or, as I joked to a coworker: the age at which I no longer have any birthdays to look forward to. Ho Hum.
Now, I’m not one to fuss much about age or put a lot of stock in a number, but I think my ‘blah’ feelings this birthday stem from a wider picture of where I currently am in my life. Let’s just say that when Kriste wrote about life feeling like Groundhog’s Day, Again, I could relate.
So much of my life to date has been about striving, achieving, and working my way towards that next goal. For me, and perhaps many of you, early adulthood was all about the milestones, and birthdays symbolized the time to march my way towards the next one.
18: I’m an adult (ha.ha.ha.) – voting and independence, oh my! Off to college!
21: Now I’m really an adult, and I can drink (::ahem::legally). Finishing college, hello grad school!
25: I think I can finally call myself an adult, for real this time. Newlywed, first time homebuyer, and a full-blown case of baby rabies. Ready to start a family!
30: Adopted 3 beautiful children. I’m going to run my first 5K!
31: Now what??
I’ve got my education, home, marriage, family, career – all the biggies checked off the list. With no big goals or milestones looming in the future, I’m finding myself a bit…stuck? aimless? lost? Now what, indeed.
So, I’m guessing at this point half of you are nodding your heads in agreement and the other half are cringing. I get it. Which is why I’ve decided to respond to myself and these feelings of ‘blah’ as I would to a friend: relax. take a breath. look around for a moment and just enjoy. Hello, perspective.
There are hard days in my marriage, in my family, and in my work. I wish I had a little more money in the bank and a little less laundry in my living room. But when it comes down to it, the fact that there are no big goals or milestones in my future…the fact that “all the biggies are checked off the list”…is a blessing.
I’ve gotten all the things I’ve ever wanted (albeit in a package light years from what I was expecting), and at 31 I can simply be grateful and take the time to enjoy the fruits of all that striving.
Or, finally get the weight off and learn to sew 😉
Our Growing Family 